Alone
by Kylara Kitsune
Summary: It's Harry's wedding, and everyone's celebrating. Nobody notices two people slip away from the party.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: All characters will be returned when I've finished playing with them.**

Hermione cheered and threw confetti along with everyone else, but in her heart she didn't really feel like celebrating. She was the only member of the Golden Trio still unmarried – hell, she didn't even have a boyfriend at the moment. Then again, after her last, disastrous, relationship, maybe that wasn't such a bad thing. She still had Crookshanks, after all, even if Ginny and the boys did think it pathetic for a 24-year-old to have just a cat as a companion.

Later that night, at the wedding reception, Hermione swiped a bottle of champagne and wandered outside. It was just typical of Harry and Luna to get married at Hogwarts – after all, it was Harry's first real home. No-one noticed her slip away; they were too busy celebrating the wedding of "The Boy Who Lived".

She made her way to the Whomping Willow, prodded the knot at the base, and sat down under the tree, where she proceeded to drain the bottle of champagne. It wasn't that she didn't approve of Harry and Luna; she did. But there was nothing like someone else's wedding to make you feel lonely.

Peering through the mist that always seemed to fill the Hogwarts grounds, she spotted someone walking towards her. Standing up, she headed out to meet them. Perhaps they, too, had celebrated enough tonight.

Charlie Weasley watched as Hermione Granger made her way unsteadily towards him. She'd obviously had far too much to drink, but who could blame her? He'd definitely had more than he should have done.

Charlie sat down, facing the lake, and gestured for Hermione to sit next to him.

"You fed up of all the happy couples too?" he asked.

"Definitely. Seems like I'm the only one left now."

She leaned her head against his shoulder, and began to cry softly.

"Hey, Hermione. Don't cry."

"C… can't help it… feel so alone."

"You're not alone, Mione. I'm here."

Hermione looked up at him, eyes bleary from the tears.

"You're here now, but what about after the party?"

"If you want me to stay, Mione, all you have to do is tell me."

He pulled her into a hug, and she clung to him. She didn't know (or at least, he didn't think she did) exactly what his feelings were for the bushy-haired ex-Gryffindor. She hadn't noticed that he'd slowly fallen in love with her.

Perhaps now, he'd have a chance to show Hermione Granger how he felt, and maybe, just maybe, she'd feel the same way.

**AN: What do you think?**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: By popular demand, here's part 2.**

Six months earlier…

It was December, and everyone had gathered at the Burrow to put up the Christmas decorations. This was one thing they always did the muggle way, much to Mr Weasley's delight. The house was full to the brim with Weasleys, Harry, Hermione, and various boyfriends/girlfriends – it was a miracle they all fitted in.

Fred and George had taken charge of decorating, which everyone knew was a bad idea. However, no-one was quite brave (or stupid) enough to challenge the twins, so they remained in charge. Currently, they were wrestling a large Christmas tree through the back door, and had got stuck, unsurprisingly, since the tree was considerably wider than the narrow doorway. Hermione Granger stood watching them, laughing at their futile attempts.

"You know, maybe we should help them, instead of laughing at their pathetic inability to get a tree through a door," mused Charlie Weasley.

"Well, I suppose it would be the right thing to do."

And with that, Charlie stood up, and he and Hermione went to help the twins.

Meanwhile, Harry and Ron were attempting to put up a set of magical Christmas lights, but every time they moved, they became more entangled in the wires. Neither of them had realised that the lights were jinxed to wrap themselves round whoever tried to put them up. Unless, of course, that person was Fred or George.

"Is it always like zis at Christmas?" Fleur Delacour-Weasley asked of Molly.

"This is tame compared to when they were little, Fleur dear. Then, you couldn't move for fear of treading on decorations of some sort. And if you broke something, they'd be so upset."

Fleur surveyed the scene in front of her, and decided that if this was tame, she was glad she hadn't seen the Weasley household when they were children.

While this was happening, Bill, Ginny, Angelina Johnson and Katie Bell had all, wisely, disappeared out of the house. Unbeknownst to everyone else, who thought they were doing their Christmas shopping, they'd gone into muggle London to escape the madness of a wizarding Christmas for a while. Of course, this was a perfect opportunity to pick up some random objects for Mr Weasley's Christmas presents. He didn't really mind what he was given, as long as it was muggle. Last year, the twins had given him a set of pencils, and he thought they were incredible. Ginny thought some felt-tip pens would be a good idea, and Bill found a colouring book to go with them.

………….

Back in the Burrow, chaos reigned. The tree was now in the house, but still lying on the floor as the ceilings weren't high enough.

"Just cut the bottom part off!" screamed Hermione in pure frustration. "You don't need the roots on it any more!"

Charlie burst out laughing. Trust Fred and George to find a tree with its roots still attached. And the sight of Hermione shouting at them like that was just too funny for words. Both she and the twins had turned bright red – she from anger, and they from embarrassment. She had managed to silence them, though.

Then, there was a loud roar from outside. Everyone rushed to the window, only to see Mr Weasley wielding a chainsaw.

"Don't you worry, I'll have that thing sorted out in no time!"

"No, Mr Weasley, it's alright, we'll sort it…" Hermione pleaded.

When he didn't pay any attention, everyone else looked round at each other, and ran.

……………

Later, when it was deemed safe to return to the house, Mrs Weasley started hanging sprigs of holly on the walls. Fred and George whispered to each other for a few moments, then started attaching something to the ceiling.

Charlie craned his neck to see just what they were decorating the room with.

"Mistletoe," he declared, shooting an evil glare at the twins.

At that moment, Hermione walked past. The twins started sniggering, and she turned to look at them. They pointed upwards, and nervously, she tilted her head back to see what they were indicating. She and Charlie were standing under the mistletoe together.

"Sorry, Hermione. It is tradition, you know," he whispered, before gently kissing her.

………………

That night, Charlie couldn't sleep. He sat on his bed, rocking backwards and forwards. He couldn't stop thinking about the kiss he and Hermione had shared. It had been so innocent; why couldn't he get it out of his head?

He groaned, and lay down. It was going to be a long night.

**AN: Reviews are good for the soul. Click the little blue button and leave one.**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Thank you to all the reviewers. Glad you like the story. Here's chapter 3.**

The wedding reception was long over, but Charlie and Hermione hadn't moved from their spot by the lake. Once Hermione had finished crying, the two of them had spent hours talking, about anything and everything they could think of.

Charlie had told her all about working with dragons in Romania, and it was clear to anybody who heard him just how much he loved his job. The last few months, he said, had been spent caring for an orphaned baby dragon – no-one had thought it would survive, but it had, and was now doing well.

Hermione had been fascinated by his stories, and had asked after Norbert – the dragon that Hagrid had acquired in her first year at Hogwarts. Norbert, it seemed, was flourishing in Romania, and had grown to be much larger than any other dragon in the reserve.

Hermione laughed.

"I remember Norbert growing to be as long as Hagrid's hut in a couple of weeks. I'm not surprised. Has he still got the teddy bear?"

It turned out, sadly, that the bear had been destroyed during his escape from Hogwarts.

In return, she told Charlie all about her work as a Healer at St Mungo's. She mainly worked with the war victims – most recently, those who had suffered the Cruciatus curse and its after-effects, such as Neville Longbottom's parents. She'd made some progress – they now recognised her and several other staff members, though not, unfortunately, Neville himself.

Charlie listened, intrigued. He'd known she was brilliant, of course, "the cleverest witch of her age", as she'd been called so frequently. Or, Ron's personal favourite, "the know-it-all". Charlie thought her intelligence was an asset, not an annoyance, as Ron did, however.

As if he had heard Charlie's thoughts, Ron Weasley ambled out of the main entrance and straight towards the couple. He didn't appear to have noticed them, which was entirely typical of Ron. He could be heard singing, loudly and out of tune. As he drew nearer, they could make out the words.

"Weasley is our king!

WEASLEY IS OUR KING!"

A short pause followed, as he struggled to remember the words. Before he could begin again, though, he finally spotted Charlie and Hermione sitting together on the grass.

"Charlie! What are you and Hermione doing out here all alone?"

"Ron. Please leave." Charlie asked through gritted teeth.

"But Charlieeeee! I want to stay here. Did you ask her out yet?" Ron nudged Charlie, before winking at him.

Hermione watched this little exchange in silence and amazement. Why would someone like Charlie want to ask her out? Ron must have put him up to it. After all, she'd kept her little crush on him secret. She couldn't say anything, especially since it had only begun after the mistletoe incident at Christmas. It seemed so childish, but she couldn't help it.

Ron's loud voice cut into her thoughts, bringing her back to reality.

"Hermione Granger! Are you listening to me?"

"Sorry Ron, didn't hear you."

"I said, since my brother is too scared to ask you, I'll do it for him. Will you accompany him to dinner on Saturday night?"

Ron has no tact whatsoever, she thought to herself. Risking a glance at Charlie, she can see he's turned the famous Weasley red, even though it's dark. He's glaring at Ron. Ron, on the other hand, is looking expectantly at her, waiting for an answer.

**AN: You know what to do. Please review.**


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: You wanted more, so here it is.**

"Yes, Charlie, I'd love to go to dinner with you this Saturday."

She could hardly say no, could she? Poor Charlie had been humiliated enough by Ron as it was, without her turning him down as well. If it was all just a joke on Ron's part, then they could sort it out quietly, by owl, during the week. Seven days was plenty of time, after all.

However, four days went by without a message from Charlie to cancel their "date". Perhaps he'd forgotten. She wasn't sure if she could cope with sitting through a meal with Charlie – she was embarrassed, mainly because of Ron's tactlessness in setting them up.

On Thursday, the owl she'd been expecting finally arrived.

"Hermione,

Are we still on for dinner? Maybe you could recommend a good muggle restaurant – Ron's threatening to haunt Diagon Alley, and I know he'll be as awkward as possible.

Charlie."

A muggle restaurant. Now that was a good idea. Neither of them would be recognised, and the troublesome Weasleys (not to mention Harry, who was practically a Weasley) wouldn't be able to find them. Now, what should she wear…

"Ginny, I need your help."

Hermione coughed. Why had no-one ever told her how uncomfortable it was making a call by floo? The ash was going up her nose, and making her eyes water, and that was before you considered the heat. She wouldn't be doing this again, that was for sure.

"What's the matter, Mya?"

"I've… achoo… got a date with your brother and I need your advice on what… cough cough… to wear."

"I'll be right there."

She was. Two seconds later, the doorbell rang. A still-sneezing Hermione opened the door and ushered her in.

"What happened to you? You look dreadful."

Ever the complimentary one, Ginny.

"You have got to get a phone! The floo call made me feel terrible."

"I did have a phone. I did have three phones. Dad keeps stealing them and taking them apart to see how they work. Then he tries to put them back together, and they usually explode. He singed his eyebrows off with the last one, and they haven't grown back yet. Bill reckons it's a good thing – might put him off."

"Has it?" Hermione couldn't help being curious, after all, she'd provided a few muggle things for Mr Weasley, and was usually the person he consulted when he wanted information.

"Are you kidding me? He wants to know why they explode! When he heard I was coming to see you he wanted to know if I could ask you."

"It's probably because he's connected the wrong wires and then tried to plug it into the mains electricity."

Ginny looked baffled.

"You want to put that in words I can understand? I didn't do Muggle Studies at Hogwarts."

"Basically, he's done it wrong."

"OK. I knew that much."

They finally remembered just why Ginny was there, and trooped off to the bedroom, where Ginny proceeded to inspect Hermione's wardrobe.

"Dreadful, horrible, what on earth is that? Crookshanks, get out! Oh hell no, that's not so bad…"

Ginny's muffled voice could be heard as she rummaged.

A few minutes later she emerged, shaking her head.

"Hermione, you have absolutely nothing that's suitable. You don't even have a decent pair of shoes, for Merlin's sake!"

Hermione looked down at her feet, clad in a pair of black trainers.

"What's wrong with these?"

Ginny looked at her in despair.

"You don't wear trainers on a dinner date, Mya! Come on. We're going shopping."

**AN: Now it's your turn - leave me a review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Chapter 5. Shopping with Ginny. As demanded by you!**

Ginny stood at the door of Hermione's bedroom, waiting for her to find her purse.

"Hurry up, Mya. Anyone would think you hated shopping."

"There's a very good reason for that," Hermione muttered darkly.

Losing her patience, Ginny banished all the clothes back to the wardrobe – she had thrown them everywhere, after all.

"Accio Hermione's purse." The small black object flew into Ginny's hand, and Hermione groaned. Now she couldn't get out of shopping. Or maybe she could. Ginny had opened the purse and seemed very interested by the array of cards.

"What are these, Mya?"

"Those two are credit cards, that I can use to pay for things in Muggle shops, and that one is my driving licence."

"Driving licence? What's that for? And what about this one?"

"The driving licence means I'm allowed to drive a car, and that one means I can borrow books from the local library."

Ginny looked nervous.

"This car of yours isn't going to fly into the Whomping Willow, like the one dad modified, is it?"

Hermione laughed. She knew all about that incident. Eventually, she shook her head.

"No, it won't. It stays on the ground, I promise."

"That's a relief."

Eventually, they made it out of the house and into the car. Ginny was surprised by its size.

"It's so small!"

"That's because the Ford Anglia you had was magically expanded. This car isn't."

"Oh, ok."

Ginny was even more surprised when they arrived at the shopping centre.

"It's just… one big building. Where are the shops?"

"Inside. It's called a shopping mall. Come on, Ginny, out of the car."

Ginny pushed at the door, getting frustrated when it wouldn't open. Hermione sighed, and walked round the car to open the door. As she did so, she explained it to Ginny.

"You pull that little lever there, and then push the door."

"Your muggle contraptions are so complicated. I'm so glad I'm a witch."

She was, however, very impressed with the shops.

"I wish I'd exchanged some money at Gringotts before coming here – some of these clothes are really pretty."

Fortunately, she was wearing muggle clothes, or she would have looked very out of place. She was attracting enough attention as it was – gawping like a tourist, as though she'd never seen a shopping mall before (which, of course, she hadn't).

"Oh, Mya, let's go in here." Grabbing her friend's arm, she pulled Hermione through the doorway. Hermione glanced round. Of all the shops Ginny had to choose, it had to be one that sold lingerie.

"Mya, you really ought to buy some."

"Ginny. There is nothing wrong with my underwear. Please, put it down and let's go."

"A girl can never have too many knickers, Mya, and these are really pretty."

Hermione risked a glance. Ginny was holding up what looked like a tiny scrap of lace. Quickly, she closed her eyes again. She could feel her face turning bright red. Before she could say anything, however, she was being led out of the shop.

"I was embarrassing you, wasn't I? I'm sorry – I didn't mean to."

"Let's… just find some stuff and go home, ok?"

"OK."

It took longer than expected to find Hermione the "perfect" outfit, but finally Ginny was satisfied.

"I think we're finished!"

"I've got one more thing to get, then we're done."

"What's that?"

"You've seen my games console, right? There's a new game I want to get for it."

That didn't take long, however, and soon they were back in the car, on the way home.

**AN: The next chapter is being written, and will be online after you post some reviews.**


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: Outfits and a crisis. Chapter 6 is here.**

"Go put it on, let's see what it looks like."

"Calm down, Ginny. Anyone would think it was you going on this date, you're so excited."

Ginny pulled a face, then smiled broadly.

"It's my favourite brother and my best friend. Why wouldn't I be excited? Go on, try the stuff on."

"I'm going, I'm going."

Ten minutes later, Hermione wobbled into the living room, where Ginny was waiting.

"These shoes are awful, I can't walk in them, and they're so uncomfortable."

Ginny waved her wand, and suddenly the shoes didn't hurt.

"As for walking in them, you just have to practise. You'll get used to it. Besides, high heels are sexy and they make your legs look a mile long."

"What good is that if I can't walk in them?"

Ginny shook her head at Hermione's complete inability to walk in her new shoes.

"That outfit looks fantastic, if I do say so myself."

It did. The floaty black skirt was short enough to show off her legs, without being so short it made her self-conscious. It was paired with a red silk blouse (chosen by Ginny, who still took House loyalty seriously, even though they were long out of Hogwarts), and of course, the dreaded high heels.

"Now, about that hair of yours…"

Hermione backed away as Ginny brandished her wand.

"Oh no. You're not doing anything to my hair. It's bad enough as it is, and I still remember when you tried to make Harry's lie flat. You turned it bright pink for a week!"

"That was an accident! You know it was. And his hair did lie flat as well."

"That's totally irrelevant. I remember Fred and George congratulating you for that one, and asking how you did it. And Molly was frantically trying to turn it back."

"Mum didn't seem too happy about it, did she? But I'm good with hair now, trust me."

And before Hermione could react, she'd already cast a spell.

"There, all done."

Hermione raised one hand to her head. OK, the hair was still where it should be. Now to check what it looked like. She turned to glance in the mirror over the fireplace, and gasped in amazement. Ginny had actually got it right – her hair was carefully arranged in an updo, and was still its proper colour.

"See, I told you I was good."

Ginny sounded smug, and incredibly pleased.

"OK, so I was wrong. Will you do my hair again on Saturday, please, Ginny?"

"I suppose I could. But in return, you've got to take me back to that muggle shopping place when I've got money with me."

"That's a deal, Ginny Weasley."

Just then, Arthur Weasley's head appeared in the fire, calling for Hermione.

"Yes, Mr Weasley?"

"There's a bit of a… um… situation. Think you could give me a hand before Molly gets back?"

"Dad, what have you done now?" Arthur looked round to see his daughter looking disapprovingly at him. She looked like a miniature version of Molly.

"Please, Hermione."

"Of course."

**AN: To see more, leave a review. Please. It makes the author happy and likely to write more.**


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: I know, it's been ages. I'm sorry.**

"The Burrow." Hermione tossed a pinch of Floo powder into the fire and stepped in. Fortunately, she'd got used to travelling by Floo, and no longer landed in an undignified heap at her destination, like Harry did. Not that it particularly mattered today, only Arthur would be there, and he sounded like he had bigger problems.

Stepping out of the Weasleys' fireplace, she inspected the scene before her. It vaguely resembled the Burrow, but only just. The place looked like a cross between a car factory and a bombsite.

"Hermione, help."

"Is that… was that… a car?"

"Yes. I took it apart with those muggle things, what do you call them, screwdrivers? I had to get rid of the dent in the front of it. And now I don't know how to put it back together."

Ginny, who appeared behind Hermione, surveyed the mess, and shook her head. "How did you get the car…" Her voice trailed off as she saw the gaping hole that had once been a large window.

"We're going to have to get the, um, pieces outside before we can do anything with them. There won't be room to repair it in here." Hermione snapped into action, planning how to fix the mess before the rest of the Weasleys appeared.

Arthur picked up a pile of bits and headed outside with them.

"Honestly, the man should have been a muggle." Ginny sighed, and banished every remnant of the car outside.

"Ginny! You can't do that, it's muggle!"

"Remember the last car you had? You used magic on that."

"And look what happened to it! It flew into the Whomping Willow."

"That was entirely Ron's fault."

"Typical Weasleys," Hermione muttered, before proceeding to cast spells until the car was as good as new. She even managed to remove the enormous dent, and decided it was wiser not to ask how it got there. Now for the window. That was soon fixed as well, and the mess cleaned up. However, the room still smelled strongly of oil and petrol, and nothing she could do was removing it. Mrs Weasley was sure to notice when she returned.

"Hello, Hermione. Thought I wasn't supposed to be seeing you until Saturday."

"Charlie! Close your eyes! Go away!" Ginny shouted at him. Covering his eyes, Charlie still managed to look puzzled."

"Mya, you should go. Thanks for helping." Ginny pushed Hermione to the fireplace, whispering in her ear as she did so. "Look at what you're wearing."

Arriving back home, Hermione pondered those words, but didn't understand until she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. Of course, she was still wearing her new outfit.

"I wouldn't have gone if I'd known Charlie was going to be there."

She kicked off her shoes, and walked into the bathroom, turning on the taps and pouring a generous amount of bubble bath into the bath.

"At least I didn't make a fool of myself, although Ginny was embarrassing."

Leaving her clothes in a pile on the floor, she lowered herself into the hot water.

CRACK!

Ron Weasley appeared, landing in the washbasin. Hermione sank further down, hiding under the bubbles.

"Oops, sorry about that. So, Mya's going out with my older brother at last."

"You know perfectly well that's entirely your fault. Now, if you don't mind, could you wait out there? I'm in the bath, Ron."

He at least had the decency to look embarrassed. "Of course."

**AN: Read and review, and I'll try to update a bit quicker this time.**


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: Thank you to the reviewers. This chapter is longer, as you've been requesting.**

Once Ron had left her alone, Hermione began to relax. Perhaps, if she stayed here long enough, he'd get fed up and go home. Picking up a bottle of shampoo, she began to wash her unruly hair.

…………………

15 minutes later.

"Hermiiiiione! What are you doing in there?"

Hermione sighed. Ron had no patience whatsoever. Heaving herself reluctantly out of the water, she wrapped a large towel around herself.

"Coming, Ronald!"

She padded downstairs, barefoot, dripping water everywhere. Ron was mooching through her kitchen cupboards, and judging by the mess, had tried to make himself a drink of some description.

"What is it with you Weasleys and muggle appliances?"

"We're wizards, Mione dear. We don't have them, so we don't know how to use them properly. I hear Charlie's quite good though." He winked at her.

Hermione found herself wishing he'd brought her wand downstairs with her, or at least got dressed first. Still, she could make him a drink first – he'd be less likely to cause chaos while he was alone that way. She switched the kettle on, dumped a teabag in the mug Ron normally used, and pushed him into the lounge.

"Sit there, don't touch anything you don't know how to use, and I'll get your tea."

Ron knew when to go along with what she said. He sat down, meekly. Hermione shook her head, fetched his drink, and went back upstairs to get dressed.

Before long, she was fully dressed and armed with her wand (just in case). Her hair still resembled a rat's nest, but Ron had seen it looking much worse, so she wasn't bothered.

"OK, Ron, what did you come here for?"

"To apologise, actually. I do think you and Charlie would make a great couple, so I'm not sorry about setting the two of you up, but I could have done it in a better way. Still, at least it was me and not the twins. I really am sorry for embarrassing the two of you, Mya. I hope you're not going to stay mad at me."

Hermione hugged him. Ron really was like a brother to her – a younger, annoying brother who could still be adorable at times.

"I'm not mad, Ron. Just don't do anything like that again."

"Don't suppose you'd tell me where you're going? Charlie does need to know, after all."

"Charlie's meeting me here, and there's no way in hell I'd tell you. I don't want all of you lot bursting in half way through the meal, do I?"

"Aww, Mya. I wouldn't do a thing like that." The cheeky grin somewhat spoiled this statement – he had every intention of interrupting if he could.

"Not going to work, Ron."

He tried the puppy dog eyes next.

"That only has an effect when Snuffles does it. You're not Snuffles, and I'm not telling you."

Ron decided it was pointless. Maybe Charlie would tell him.

"Anyway, gotta go, Mya. See you later." He disappeared. Hopefully, this time, he'd end up where he intended to go.

………………

"Arthur Weasley!"

Molly had returned home, stepped through the front door, and instantly noticed the unusual smell. Despite everything Hermione had done, the house still smelled strongly of oil.

"Yes, dear?" Arthur nervously poked his head round the door – he'd been hiding in the kitchen."

"What on earth have you done? And you can dispose of that contraption on the grass – I know what you did to the last one."

"But Molly, dear, they're so useful, and Hermione knows how they work…"

"Hermione may understand them, but you do not!" Her voice was getting louder. All the Weasley siblings started to retreat upstairs. Molly was scary when she was angry.

"Is that… thing… responsible for the state of this house? How did you even get it inside, Arthur?"

"I'm sorry, Molly." To anyone outside the family, it would have seemed funny – a grown man, cowering in front of his wife. To the Weasleys, it wasn't.

"Makes a change for her to be shouting at Dad." The younger Weasleys were all crouching at the top of the stairs, witnessing the scene below them.

"You're right, Fred. Usually it's us."

"Well, you two normally deserve it. Sometimes it's Ron, though."

"Oh, and you've never been yelled at, Bill?"

"She doesn't yell at me, but she's always trying to cut my hair and get rid of this." Bill gestured to the fang that hung from one ear.

Crack! Ron appeared, right in the middle of Molly's rant. He landed, rather unfortunately, on the dining table.

"Ronald! When will you learn to aim properly?"

"It's improving." Ron looked down, not wanting to be the focus of Molly's anger. It was true – he was improving. He'd landed in Hermione's bath and on her bed while she was sleeping before.

Fortunately for Arthur, Ron's appearance put an end to Molly's tirade, and she instantly removed the smell that the car had caused. As she left the room, Ron asked what had happened while he'd been gone.

"Trust me, son, you don't want to know."

**AN: Now you've read it, leave a review!**


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: The long-awaited chapter 9. Enjoy.**

Saturday morning dawned, bright and sunny. Hermione dragged herself out of bed, knowing that she had to look vaguely presentable before Ginny arrived. Exactly why Ginny thought they needed all day to prepare her for this date, she had no idea. Still, there was no dissuading a determined Weasley.

"Morning, Hermione." Ginny's head appeared in the fireplace while Mya was still sitting in the lounge, drinking her coffee.

"Morning."

"What's up with you?" Ginny stepped through the fireplace into Hermione's house.

"Ginny, I've just got up. I am not a morning person, you should know that by now."

"Oh, how silly of me. Of course. Well, finish your coffee, then it's into the shower with you."

"Ginny, why is this going to take all day? It can't possibly take more than an hour, at the most."

"Didn't Charlie tell you? He wants to go to that place the muggles call a cinema, so he'll be meeting you earlier. I told him to send you an owl – it should have got here by now."

Sure enough, the Weasleys' owl Errol was outside the window, desperately trying to stay in the air. Ginny shook her head in despair.

"I didn't know he'd sent it with Errol. No wonder it took so long." She opened the window and grabbed the aged owl, took the letter and handed it to Hermione.

"Dear Hermione,

I hope you don't mind me changing the plans at such short notice, but is it ok if I meet you about three hours earlier? A colleague introduced me to the cinema and I'd like to go there with you.

Charlie."

"OK then, that's fine. But I don't know what films he'd like."

"Just pick something you want to see. He won't really be paying attention to the story – he'll be too busy being fascinated with the moving pictures that make noise to care."

"Are you sure?"

"Very sure. Trust me on this one. Now, shower."

Hermione left, muttering something about bossy Weasleys.

"I heard that, Mya!"

…………………

It took hours, but finally Ginny declared herself satisfied with Hermione's appearance.

"You can look now."

"I'm scared to – I have absolutely no idea what you've done. I probably don't look like me any more.

"Oh, just shut up and look, will you." And with that, she pushed Hermione in front of the mirror, who whistled approvingly.

"Very nice indeed. Your young man won't be able to keep his eyes off you!"

"Ginevra Weasley, just what have you been telling my mirror?"

"Hermione! As if I would! All I said was that you were going out tonight." Downstairs, the doorbell rang. "That'll be Charlie. I'll go let him in."

Hermione waited a few moments before following her friend. She was nervous, but didn't want to admit it. At least she could walk in those stupid heels now, so she wouldn't look a total idiot. She could hear Ginny and Charlie talking, and decided she'd better make an appearance. Get the awkward hellos over with while Ginny was still there; before it was just the two of them. She walked downstairs, slowly.

**AN: I know, I know. It's cruel leaving it at this point. Review, and more will be posted.**


	10. Chapter 10

**AN: So, we finally get to the part you've all been waiting for.** **It's also the last chapter of this story.**

Charlie turned to watch as Hermione walked down the stairs. She looked absolutely beautiful. Ginny was wolf-whistling, which he found slightly disturbing.

All was going well, Hermione decided, until she tripped on the last step and started to fall. Thank goodness for Charlie's seeker reflexes – he managed to catch her before she hit the floor. Hermione blushed fiercely, feeling somewhat humiliated. Ginny sniggered quietly, while Charlie glared at her, and helped Hermione to her feet.

"Hi, Hermione. Ready to go?"

"I think so. Ginny, remember to feed Crookshanks."

"Yes, Mya. Now have fun, and don't do anything I wouldn't do." She winked at the pair of them as they left.

"Now, Crookshanks. How about you and me do a little bit of… exploring before I try to figure out how to use the phone." Crookshanks looked disapproving. "You don't like that? Ok, you stay in here." And with that, she put the yowling cat into the kitchen and closed the door.

She knew she shouldn't, but she really wanted to have a look round Hermione's bedroom, to see if she kept anything embarrassing in there. The obvious place, of course, would be wherever she kept her underwear. However, upon finding the right drawer, she was distracted, and began sorting Hermione's lingerie into piles of what she deemed acceptable and what definitely had to go before Charlie ever saw it. It may be embarrassing having your friend seeing this stuff, but it would be a lot worse if your boyfriend saw it, she reckoned.

"Oh hell, Hermione! That has got to go."

After rummaging through most of Hermione's room, Ginny decided the film must have finished and they'd be on the way to the restaurant. Smirking, she headed back downstairs, picked up the phone, frowned, put it back down and went to the fireplace.

…………………

Charlie and Hermione were still laughing as they came out of the cinema. She'd chosen to watch a comedy, and it appeared to have been a good choice. They made their way to the restaurant, a short stroll down the road.

…………………

"Fred? George?"

"Yes, Gin?"

"Listen closely."

Hermione had made a big mistake by confiding in Ginny about where they would be going. Ginny was as keen to spy on them as the rest of the Weasley siblings.

…………………

"I have a reservation for two under the name Granger."

"Certainly, madam. This way, please."

They followed the waiter, who seated them at a small table away from the few other diners. Charlie glanced around, checking that his brothers were nowhere in sight.

"They won't turn up. I wouldn't tell Ron where we were going."

"That's a relief." He reached for her hands across the table, lifted one and kissed it. At that moment, a camera flash went off. Charlie and Hermione both turned to see where it came from, and spotted a glimpse of red hair behind a very large ornamental plant. They crept up to it, and found the twins, Ron and Ginny. George was clutching a camera. The four of them knew they'd made a dreadful mistake when they saw Hermione's expression. Charlie may be older, stronger and spend most of his time working with dragons, but it was common knowledge that Hermione was the most talented witch of her generation. Luckily, they were in a muggle restaurant, so she couldn't start hexing them just yet.

"I suggest you all leave. Now. We'll deal with this later." Charlie's voice was quiet, and sounded dangerous. The four Weasleys sped towards the door as fast as they could.

"I'm really sorry, Hermione. I should have known that they'd try something like this."

"It's probably my fault – I mentioned to Ginny that we were coming here."

"Don't worry about it. They've gone now, and we can enjoy our meal in peace."

As they walked back to their table, he slipped an arm around her waist, and she moved closer to him.

The rest of the evening passed by pleasantly and without further incidents. Before either of them realised it, it was time to leave. Before they apparated back to Hermione's, however, Charlie conjured a rose and handed it to her.

"I had a really good time tonight, Hermione."

"Me too."

Neither of them knew who made the first move, but they were in each other's arms, kissing as though their very lives depended on it. It was the catcalls of people passing by that brought the couple back to reality.

"We'd better go."

They moved into a shadowy area, out of sight of all the muggles, and apparated. Arriving in Hermione's living room, they found the four miscreants waiting for them. Crookshanks was sitting on the coffee table, watching them carefully. It looked as though they'd spent the entire time there.

"Good boy, Crookshanks." The cat leapt into Hermione's arms, purring loudly.

"All of you can just go home. I'm not in the mood to deal with you right now."

Looking at each other in amazement, they all apparated away before she could change her mind.

"Charlie? Do you think we could do this again sometime?"

"How does next Saturday sound to you?"

"Perfect."

It wasn't long before he left as well. Hermione placed the rose in a vase of water, and wandered upstairs. Everything was in its proper place, so she didn't even realise that Ginny had been there.

She sighed happily, and closed her eyes.

**AN: Well, you didn't think it was going to be uneventful, did you? Read and review, please.**


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